This course is very challenging when taken online. There is alot of research that needs to go into every topic each week. The course is very time consuming and it is not an easy course. Some suggestions that I have are: Do not wait until the last minute to start your topics, at least look them over and read each topic at the beginning of the week. Use the Discussion Board to ask questions and post suggestions with other students, this will probably be the most helpful. You also should feel comfortable working on your own when it comes to performing the labs. I found this to be hard for me because I like having someone to work out the problems with. Make sure that you are comfortable when working with a computer, whether it is Word or using the Internet.
All in all I am glad that I took the class online beacause I live an hour's drive from Macomb. I not only learned about science but learned that I could work on my own and have the confidence that I did a good job

This is my second online class and have found that online courses are much more difficult and time consuming than on campus courses (I’m sure you’ve heard). I was lucky though to have had recently taken six science courses, most of them containing a lab component. This greatly helped in reducing my lab time and understanding the concepts easily. Some things I can share that I feel will help you better prepare are the following:

1) Read all materials provided by the instructor before panicking. Look at the lab book, Sciencescene.com, the Blackboard, and look through your VERY large lab kit. I would even suggest going over things a few times to help clarify and give you a solid understanding of what is expected. Dr. Suckley has provided everything you need to be successful in this course.

2) Organize your materials in a binder with labeled tabs. I personally printed out most of the material from the Sciencescene.com website to help me prepare for the labs. Specifically, the material under Seminar and Useful Notes are a necessity to read. The example report provided for the Measurement Lab really helped! Keep all your lab reports in this format and do not deviate.

3) I even went so far as to have a calendar by my computer listing all of the topics, their due dates, and I documented in it when I posted to the Discussion Board. The calendar really provided me with the big picture of the short time frame we have for this course.

4) Start your labs as early as possible! The lab work can be lengthy and the write up for the report is even lengthier. Read the seminar provided online and the lab book carefully before starting. Read through the lab procedures even more carefully to understand what you will be doing.

5) Log onto the Discussion Board daily to ask questions or help others out. This provides a good tool to compare lab results, quiz answers, and solicit the teacher’s help if necessary.

6) The final project is called the “Application Project”. I would suggest you read what this entails before you even start your first lab. This project will consist of applying all the concepts you learn in each topic to one report. I would suggest (I didn’t do this and was freaking out at the end) after completing the lab for each topic to write a paragraph or two of how that topic can be applied to whatever subject Dr. Suckley wants you to write on (ours was building a home). Keep doing this after each topic report and by the end of the semester you will almost have your final project completed!

I’m sure you will do fine! Just remember PREPARATION and ORGANIZATION will be key to the successful completion this course.

The online course in Physical Science is fun yet time consuming. You shoudn't really wait for the last minute to start with the activity.I made a mistake of taking two online courses that were both midmesters with two on campus courses too, it was so hard for me. For me the hardest part in the laboratory activity was the first and last(application project). The first one which is measurement I was in panic because it was my first time to do on line course and I am not so sure of what I am doing. I got along fine but then the last one was hard too so I would suggest that in every laboratory that you try to think of how you can apply each concept with regards to tha last topic application and make notes so by the last report you will have reference from your own works.Also, you should always post all your concerns to your online classmates and try to help each other out.

Dear Future Student:
This class can be fun, interesting and enjoyable if you make it this way. This is not a shortcut, many people think that because this class is only eighth weeks long it will be easier, this is not true, it’s just the opposite. You must be able to work on your own along with having the discipline to get the work done and log on the web everyday.

Now this was my fourth on-line class so therefore I did not have any problems with getting the work done on time because I was already adjusted to the crazy schedule. If this is your first on-line course I would make sure you do have enough time to complete the work or you will regret it come the end of the class.

Also you must know how to work a computer and other knowledge such as Microsoft word, and Microsoft Exle The reason for this is that you will be given different reports to do each and every week. To do them you need the experience with a computer. The lab reports are very time consuming. Now after you do the labs and write up your report you would have probable spent 20 or so hours on then assignment. Think about this before entering the class. IT IS A LOT OF YOUR TIME!!!!!!

Now I do not mean to scare anyone. Dr. Suckley is a great on-line teacher. Everything for the course is placed right at your fingertips. It is just you to you to take the information and apply it. Also your classmates are always there to help if it is needed. This class is so was so much fun and it is laid out better then any of my other on-line classes. I have learned more in this class then any of my others.

I hope you enjoy this class as much as I did and remember it is what you make of something. It is up to you to have fun with this class. Look at the topic more in-depth and see how much they do effect your life. You will be surprised at how much these topic will interfere with your everyday life.

Good Luck to you all!
Thanks,
Danielle

I took this course thinking that it would be an easy way out of my mandatory physics course, and boy was I wrong. The last thing this class could be described as is an easy course. I made the mistake of not caring and thinking I would just "get by" in the first few weeks, and before I knew it, I dug a hole for myself that I barely got out of. By the end of the third week, I had hacked my way through measurements, experimental models, and I was failing miserably. I wasn't doing anything right, and my grade showed it. So by the beginning of the fourth week, it was either drop the course or dive head first into the course. I decided to go for it, and I basically started from scratch. I read the seminars and read every single bit of information that Dr. Suckley had to offer on each topic, and put a lot of time into my topic reports and it paid off. My grades started to pick up, I actually enjoyed the electricity lab, and I am now in the position to pass the course with an average grade. My advice to all future students is do NOT be like me. Don't let the big plastic bin scare you, don't get frustrated, and if you can't spend a LOT of time alone on your computer and doing all the labs, then drop. But if you are willing to put forth a lot of effort, then stick with it, because this is the class for you. Believe it or not, you may actually learn something! (scary, huh?)

Hello Future Students,
This class will be a lot of fun for you if you are willing to put forth some effort. This is not the type of class you can procrastinate in. If you have self discipline and will start the assignments early in the week, this class will be challenging, yet fun for you. However, if you are not a go getter, and you like to wait until the last minute to get your assignments done, this class will be nothing but challenging for you. My best advice for you is:
1. Read all class information carefully, especially the information about how to label your assignments.(Your grade can really be knocked low if you do not follow directions).
2. Read all information before you start your experiments. Read the seminar, the topic in your
book, etc...
3. Use all of the available resources. Sciencescene has lots of helpful information, especially the
Helpful Notes area and the area that shows you pictures of how the lab should be set up. Also, do
not be afraid to ask questions on the discussion board. That is what it is there for. It is a great
way to get help and feedback from your peers and Dr. Suckley.
4. Check all of your lab equipment when you first get your lab box. It is better to check the whole thing in the beginning of the semester, rather than checking each separate lab week by week. The book store has weird hours in the middle of the semester, so if you are missing something, it is better to know that in the beginning of the semester when it will be easier to replace missing items.
5. Relax, let the book guide you, and try to have fun with the labs. They really are very interesting!
Good Luck to All!!

I just finished the physical science online course and it was a challenge. I enjoyed the conveinience I had for it being an online course (doing everything from home) but when it cam to the labs, it was complicated. You could ask questions online to fellow students, but you had to wait for their response. This was difficult because if you are working on the lab right now, you may hae to put it on hold till someone answers you. The workload was not to bad and the assignments were interesting to learn. My overall experience was great for this course because I got to do it from home. I would recommend anyone who is unavailable during the day to take this course with Dr. Suckley online. It was worth it!

I hope to share some words of wisdom with you in hopes that your online experience will go smoother then mine. I am a first year student and this was my first online class. I do not have a back ground in science or math. I recommend that you have a little background information before you take physics. The experiments would have gone much smoother if I had a little knowledge of what was being learned. However, I don’t want to discourage you from taking this class. I learned more from this class then I have from any of the other classes I have taken. If you are a visual and interactive learner like I am you may want to take the class at campus. Some of my frustrations were based on not being able to see how the experiments were done. Another key frustration was the time I worked on the experiments was late at night. I found that there were not a lot of students online to compare with that late. A lot of the time I had questions for Dr. Suckley and he was not always online at the same time I was. This class is not for everyone. So please check the format before signing up. The advantage of taking the online class allowed me to work full time and go to school full time. I would not of been able to do it if I had to go to campus for this class. Overall I feel great about the class and I full of knowledge that I did not even know was out there. Here are some helpful hints if you decide to take the class.
1.        Check your kit to make sure you have all of the components. I did not do that and I found out after I started the experiment that I was missing a piece of equipment, and I had to stop and go to campus to pick it up.
2.        Give your self enough time. I should have not waited so long to start a couple of the experiments because I almost ran out of time. You will enjoy the class much more if you don’t feel rushed all the time.
3.        Don’t be afraid to communicate on the discussion board. There were several students in my class that had a science back ground and other knowledge that really helped me out.
4.        If you can’t figure something out and the class does not know either. Call Dr. Suckley, he is always willing to help. He just wants the class to try and work things out by themselves then he will jump in if he needs to.
5.        This information is key so try and fun with it.
6.        Use the resources available to you. Don’t just read the chapter and the seminar. Use the websites provided by sciencescene.com and other website to help you understand what is being discussed.
7.        Like Dr. Suckley said “Don’t Panic” if you do it makes things much harder.


Well, good luck and I hope you gain as much from this class as I did.

Well let me first start off by saying that if I could do it, anyone can! I am scientifically challenged because I haven't had a science course in about 10 years. If you are looking for an easy way, then drop NOW. This class required alot of time. First off the science kit itself was a shocker to me because I was thinking that it was going to be this little kit, but boy was I wrong. Don't panic if you have never had a science course or if it's been years because it is a learning environment and you will learn even if you are not interested in science. Don't get frustrated if you have to redo several lab results to get an acceptable answer. You will find that that happens alot. Don't wait until Thursday to decide that you want to do your project that is due on Friday because you are working alone and if you have questions, you might not get a prompt response so you can finish a particular section to move on. This is a learning environment with your classmates so don't count on Dr. Suckley to just give you the answers. Overall, this is a good class I just underestimated its potential. Follow the topic reports as laid out on the example and remember to post your Summary and Final Thoughts to the discussion board. The final is comprehensive and if you can answer the quiz questions online as well as in the book, then you will do just fine on it. I made the mistake of not completely reading the chapters that I elected not to do and it made the final a little more difficult on those sections because even though you did not do a topic report on it, it is still on the final. Overall, I learned alot from this class and enjoyed it very much. I don't know if this would have been true for an on campus class because I probably would have depended more on others in the class. I learned alot working on my own and always didn't feel too confident in my answers. I don't know why that was because I successfully completed all of the topics reports with very decent grades! Remember to have fun and try to make the most of it because it is all pertaining to everyday things that you do or come in contact with, but probably just took for granted.